Richarlison has had a disappointing time at Tottenham Hotspur since joining them from Everton last year.
Richarlison has barely managed to get on the score sheet, and the Brazilian international has been criticised heavily for his performances. The 26-year-old was expected to develop into the ideal replacement for Harry Kane. But he has had a mediocre start to the current campaign as well.
After failing to impress in the first few weeks, Richarlison has finally had a breakthrough, and he managed to score an important goal for his side against Sheffield United. And Arsenal icon Lee Dixon has now heaped praise on the Brazilian, claiming that he is almost unplayable when he is at his best and that he was never a bad player despite his rough patch of form.
Dixon said, “He’s come back into the team, at his best he’s almost unplayable. He plays up front for Brazil, you know he’s their number nine so he can’t be that bad. But you don’t see enough of him at his best and that will be down to his emotion. You’ve played in teams where you’ve got a bit of a maverick and you go, ‘This lad, he can win us any game we play in’.
“But then you’re kind of looking at him for 75% of the games he plays in and thinking, he’s a liability or he’s not quite doing enough. So, I think he’s one of them, I’m not saying you only get 25% out of him. In order for him to be positioned in the place where he is right now as Tottenham’s number nine replacing Harry Kane, you’ve got to be churning goals out week in, week out.”
Tottenham scored two late goals to pick up all three points against Sheffield United, and Richarlison delivered the goods. The Brazilian has never been a prolific goalscorer, but he has proven himself to be a quality attacker in the Premier League with Everton and Watford. He will hope to get back to his best and prove his quality at Tottenham now.
Ange Postecoglou does not have too much depth in the attacking department, and Richarlison will have to lead the line for him at least until the January transfer window. Tottenham decided not to replace Harry Kane with a specialist striker, and it remains to be seen how the situation develops.
Despite his disappointing performance in recent weeks, the goal against Sheffield United could not have come at a better time for the Brazilian international. It will give him immense confidence boost and it could help him get his career back on track once again.
The player has previously revealed that he was going through a tough period off the pitch. But he is now over his personal problems and he is looking to focus on his football once again. Tottenham fans will certainly hope that the performance against Sheffield United is the start of something special, and the 26-year-old can finally live up to the expectations at his new club.
